While she was really fast, her opponent almost matched her speed and also dashed forward to cross their blades. “And I hoped we would find some mutual understanding…” Evan said sourly, as if he was sad that he wouldn’t be able to talk it out.


    “Like hell we would!” Navia kicked Evan away, surprising him with her strength even though he had witnessed it with his own eyes a moment ago when she overwhelmed three of his men.


    He let out a cough before he was able to speak. “Are you sure you’re a lady? Because that was a strength of a gorilla!” He shouted as he parried Navia’s attack, making her wide open, landing an uppercut to her chin and sending her flying away.


    Once she landed, Navia quickly recovered and spit out a bit of blood from her mouth, making the whole crew cheer for their leader. “Just surrender, and I won’t injure you anymore.” Said Evan as he gave Navia a warning gaze, meaning that what he just showed was just a taste of his power.


    “And go into slavery? I''d rather kill you where you stand.” Navia answered bitterly as she brought the dagger close to her shoulder. Her voice did not hide the intention to kill.


    “You sure you’re from the Order of Tomorrow?” Asked Evan, but he had to quickly stop his talk to bring his saber up to defend himself from a sudden attack. He had to take a step back to solidify his stand that was about to crumble just from Navia’s pure force. “Strength is all you got?” As he said that, the ring with the yellow gem began to glow with bright light that illuminated both ships and blinded Navia as she had her eyes close to the gem.


    Navia tried to get her vision back by rubbing her eyes, but it was futile work. That’s when she was suddenly punched in the face, making her roll on the floor until she hit the edge of the ship. “Where is that voice… I need to know where he is! I need to kill him!” Navia desperately thought as her agitation grew. The voice didn’t come; didn’t listen to her plead. She needed it to fight strong opponents, to win no matter what.


    “Did you lose your fang?” Asked Evan as he kicked Navia’s hip, making her roll away again to the side of the ship. “Where is that beast that killed my crew?!” He shouted as he hit her in the face, drawing more blood to the ground.


    As Navia tried to stand up, she placed her hand on her own blood, and without any thought, it hardened and turned into a knife. She could finally see her opponent and surprised him by swinging the dagger she had just created; for him, the blade appeared out of nowhere. Evan barely avoided the blade, feeling as if it cut his throat open. Navia relentlessly continued her attacks with a blood knife, she was able to cut one of his dreadlocks.


    He looked down at the cutten hair and back at Navia. “So you do have some aces up your sleeve…” He said with a surprised smile, as he didn’t expect anything like it. “Looks like I can’t hold back.” He raised his right fist, and a green gem began to glow. He threw a quick jab while he was feet away from Navia.


    Her head jerked at the touch of the wind, blood coming out of her nose as if she got punched straight in the face. Quickly recovering, she was able to avoid the next invisible attack that flew past her. Yet she felt like she had been punched right in the shoulder. “How…” She whispered with arm pressed against her shoulder.


    “Nice rings, right?” Said Evan as he swung his saber, aiming to injure Navia’s shoulder. She brought her dagger up to defend against the attack, but once their blades collided, her hand and the hilt of her weapon were enveloped in ice. She then noticed that a ring with a blue gem on the hand he was holding his saber with also began to glow. She brought her arm to the side to defend against the flying kick. She screamed as the kick connected, cracking her bone. She hit the side of the ship, shattering the ice as her hand slammed against the wood.


    “Ready to surrender?” Asked Evan as he walked forward with confidence, feeling like he already won the fight.


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    Navia spit blood right in front of his foot and with a smirk she said “Fuck off, sea swine.”


    A vein popped out on Evan’s face, the provocation clearly worked on him. “Looks like I’ll have to teach you a lesson before I sell you!” He shouted as he pinned her hand that was holding the dagger to the floor with his left foot. Navia swung her other arm with a blood dagger aimed at his ribs to pierce his lungs, but he quickly brought his saber and stabbed Navia’s hand and also pinned it to the floor. “That’s how you’ll spend the rest of your life once I break you…” He whispered, hoping to bring despair into Navia’s soul, but as he got a closer look, he saw that she still had that confidence in her.


    Navia spit out her blood at Evan, but as it flew, it hardened and changed into a blade. He had to jump back to avoid it; the blade only scratched his ear, but Navia was free from his grasp. She lunged forward before he could take a solid stance, grabbing his right arm behind and twisting his wrist so he would drop the saber. She then pressed the dagger to his throat, whispering into his ear, “Any last words.”


    Evan seemed worried at first, but after a second, a smile won over. “Look to your left.” He slowly said.


    Navia looked the way he asked and saw the man with long black hair and two daggers still standing; right in front of him was Mirabell with a blade close to her face. “You touch the captain… I kill the girl…” Said the man as he breathed heavily, still bleeding from his wound. Instead of treating an injury that could kill him any second, he chose to help his captain.


    Her eyes of pure shock looked at the terrified girl. She was trying to move away from the blade, but the man wouldn’t let her. She froze and didn’t move; both of them were in the same position. “He must be lying. Even if I kill the captain, he won’t touch her. It’ll be an opportunity for him to be the captain of the ship. This scum will always think about themselves.” Thought Navia as anger built up inside her, pressing the dagger harder into Evan’s throat, a drop of blood falling down his neck.


    “If you think they will ever betray me… Then you’re wrong. It’s not fear that makes them follow me. It''s my actions that made them loyal.” Evan laughed a bit as he said that but stopped as he felt that while laughing, his throat was moving into the blade, drawing even more blood.


    “You’re lying… You’re pirates…” Navia desperately counter-argued, trying not to get swayed by the pirate’s trickery.


    “We may be pirates… But we still are humans. After you killed my man, I had to step in. No other captain would do that. So if you take me out, you can be sure that the young one will go with me.” Said Evan. Once he felt the grip on him loosen, he slowly moved away.


    Navia didn’t even look at the captain; she worriedly observed the man, waiting for him to get the dagger away from Mirabell. His eyes darted from her to the captain, but after not seeing any signals, he moved the blade away.


    “Thank you for your cooperation.” Gently said Evan, making Navia finally look straight at him but as she turned around, he placed his fist on her forehead. A white gem began to glow on Evan’s ring. Navia’s eyes moved back, and she fainted. Before she could hit the ground, Evan grabbed her and gently placed her on the floor.


    “No! Navia! NO!!!” Mira shouted as she tried to run to Navia’s side, but the man held her strong, not letting her go. She wiggled around, trying to break free, but she was just a little girl trying to escape the grasp of a grown man.


    “She is not dead.” Calmly said Evan as he approached the girl, still held by his crewmate. He kneeled in front of her and looked straight into her eyes. “She is just asleep. For your own good, you’ll get some rest too.” Mirabell followed the man’s fist with a horrified gaze, and once the white gem touched her forehead, she fainted.


    Three more men jumped down to the small ship. One of them took Mira, and the other helped his injured companion get back onto the ship. The third man slowly took out his saber and lifted the blade above Navia, the tip of his saber aimed at her neck. His eyes were filled with anger, a few tears hidden in his eyes, unable to leave it. As he brought the blade down, the captain shouted, “DON’T!” The man flinched at an unexpected scream and missed the mark by an inch.


    Evan’s eye twitched as he looked at his crewmate, standing above Navia with a saber in hand, intent on killing a defenseless woman. The man watched his captain with mixed feelings, but mostly there was disbelief. “She killed As-”


    The man tried to argue, but the captain came up to him and cut in with an authoritative tone. “Don’t touch our merchandise. Get back on the ship.” Evan grabbed the hand with the saber and pushed it away, toward the Dark Wave.


    The man worriedly watched his captain but didn’t argue. He picked up his saber, and before jumping back onto the Dark Wave, he looked back to see the captain’s face, to read his feelings. It was unclear because he hid them very well.